Villar unveils learning center project in Smokey Mountain

Tondo-born and raised Senator Manny Villar led the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for a Community Learning Center building project in Smokey Mountain, Tondo as he emphasized the importance of early education.

"Education in general plays a vital role in nation-building. These days however, given the deteriorating quality of our present educational system, early education is widely recommended. It is in fact one of the thrusts of the government," said Villar, who is the president of the Nacionalista Party.

He said the construction or establishment of early learning centers and community schools is considered as a proactive way of solving the problem. "In fact, it is like hitting two birds with one stone. We will be able to provide education to poor children as well as promote early and community-based education," Villar said.

The community learning center, a joint endeavor of Villar, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Palafox consultancy firm, will benefit more than 1,000 poor children in the Smokey Mountain reclamation area.

Villar has a pending bill in the Senate that proposes the early education of Filipino children.

Dubbed as "The Early Learning Trust Fund," Senate Bill 530 proposes the establishment of early learning programs for indigent pre-kindergarten children in order to provide them with high quality educational programs.

"The first three years of a child’s life are critical to his development and future success, thus early education is crucial. Unfortunately, many parents cannot afford to enroll their toddlers in early learning schools or centers," he said.

Villar also cited a recently published report of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) that six out of 10 Filipino children cannot afford early childhood education and one out of five barangays in the country do not even have pre-school programs.

When passed into law, Senate Bill 530 would make widely available to pre-kindergarten children high-quality, child-centered and developmentally appropriate early learning programs.